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Praise for 'Handshakes for Bullets'
"Kinesis may just be the best new band in the world." - 4.5/5 - The Fly
"...inspirational, something that reaches beyond the mundane." - 4/5, Kerrang!
"A furious, thrilling, vital debut album." - 5/5, Rockfeedback.com
"Sharp as a razor." - 4/5, Bang
"Handshakes for Bullets is a snapshot of potentially one of the most important bands of their generation." -4/5, The Observer
Praise for 'You Are Being Lied To'
"Heartbreaking…this record shows the fragility and emptiness of the rock ' n’ roll dream we all secretly harbour. Kinesis have to be applauded for having the balls and strength to make this album, one that has such conviction and honesty to put most other bands to shame." – Sounds XP
"Given time Kinesis have proved they can produce some stunning music." – Designer Punk
"This is a superlative record - not the last rites of band in decline but a documentary of four musicians at the height of their powers and stretching every style they approach to the limit." - Tasty
"'You are being lied to' is certainly a different album, a difficult album, one that will show you its greatness when you listen to it intentionally. It's one of those records that will only be visible to the lucky few who have open eyes, brains that work and a good set of ears. Don't miss it." - 4.5/5 europunk.net
Kinetic Energy : An Interview with The Fly Magazine
And that may be quite a claim (certainly the band's bassist Tom Marshall isn't committing to such grand statements as yet. "The potential's there," he reckons, "but there's still a hell of a lot to do."), but it's hard to ignore the fact that England win The Ashes more often that rock music produces albums as stimulating as 'Handshakes for Bullets' - the full-length debut from Kinesis. Marshall may claim, and he regularly does, that the band are naive (all four of them were born in 1983 or 84) but this is exactly what makes them so important. They talk in a language their peers understand, and they're concerned about the things the boy next door in the Nirvana hoodie can actually do something about.
For instance, instead of standing up on behalf of a mistreated individual a couple of continents away (let's face it, how many people don't feel either pretty hopeless or pretty detached when it comes to things that are happening so far away) Kinesis investigate conflicts closer to home. Former single '...And They Obey' was inspired by the race riots around Bolton (from whence the band originate), Oldham and Burnley, and it magnifies the problems on our own doorstep. Why are these things happening? What causes such internal unrest and cultural divides? One thing Kinesis don't do, however, is hand out solutions. They really are just a bunch of kids wondering what the hell is going on. "I don't think we have answers, we don't have a way to live your life," Tom admits. "We haven't got completely formed opinions, and we're not going to say we have because it would just be stupid, and we'd get tripped up left, right and centre. I know people probably think that's ducking out, and will ask for our definitive ideal, but I think we're constantly throwing out questions and it's up to people to answer them for themselves."
Which is fair enough. But, of course, how many people would bother listening to the questions in the first place if they thought the tunes on 'Handshakes...' were quite pony. Let's face it, all this talk wouldn't be much good as an album if the music was a bit rubbish. Fortunately then, Kinesis are no slouches in the songwriting department either. Conor McGloin plays a feisty, epic guitar, Neil Chow (who is actually in this room with Tom and The Fly, but has so far struggled to get a word in) hits a furious beat, whilst Michael Bromley sings like he'll die if he doesn't run. Which would be fine, but his feet are tied together. It's "confused" sounding, says Marshall, but only, one feels, because it couldn't sound any other way. What the band have managed to do is represent their own feelings perfectly, and this suggests there's some great musical nouse flying about. Muse had better watch their backs, because the next band with big, big potential have just got themselves noticed down at HMV. And the Hell Is For Heroes fans are going crazy, because now there are two bands who mix riffs that remind you of kids at Christmas with hooks big enough to land Jaws.
It's intriguing interviewing a band like Kinesis. Considering they're so aware that something's not right in this world, both Neil and Tom (who worries that he'll be perceived as judgmental) seem incredibly optimistic. They have faith in human nature, and it's endearing to hear them talk like everything could be okay if people just thought about things a bit harder. Coldplay annoy them a bit, though, despite the fact that Mr. Martin supports free trade (which should be a good thing, but is an army of predominantly unversed Coldplay fans preaching the ills of such a complicated issue really what's needed?), because of songs like 'Yellow'. "I don't know what the song's about but I guess it's not about anything good," laughs Marshall. Kinesis, you see, don't do love songs - they want to make their music more exciting, and, anyway, "If Mike wrote some lyrics about how much he loved his girlfriend, well alright, fair enough, very sweet and everything, but why would anyone else give a shit?!"
Kinesis talk about enough interesting stuff tonight to fill a whole issue of The Fly. They're unerringly polite and engaging, and the fact that Neil's spent the whole time wearing comedy-sized red boxing gloves has been only slightly disconcerting. If we had room we'd go into detail about the time they first heard their single on the radio - they were in art class at school; and if we had space we'd help the band urge people to stop working just so they can spend half their wages on a night down Bolton High Street and, "The other half on a kebab." We'd also expand on Tom's conspiracy theory ("People who are elevated to the biggest media profiles don't have anything interesting to say and that's no coincidence.") We'd also relay the moment that Manchester United came on TV and we remembered that Kinesis weren't just old souls but also young lads who like football. But, over the next few years, there'll be time for all of this, and a whole lot more. Because one thing's for sure - this will definitely not be the last you hear of Kinesis.
Interviewed by Johnny K
Some more press cuttings
"There's probably not much to make Joe Strummer Smile as he looks down from heaven, but at least in Kinesis there is one band extending the legacy of euphoric political riot music left by The Clash." - NME, '...And They Obey' review
"'Everything Destroys Itself', the band's second release, has more intelligence, invention and youthful indignation than you could shake Cedric Bixler's 'fro at." - Kerrang!, 'Everything Destroys Itself' review
"With an average age of 17, a sleeve that quotes fated Japanese writer Mishima and a name that means 'a movement in response to a stimulus', after a mere half-dozen gigs Kinesis are a rare undiscovered treat. - Kerrang!, 'Worship Yourself' review
"Ruthlessly stealing the show before it's even started, they pogo, shriek and provoke like the genetically modified Perfect Rock Band." - NME, live review (Manchester Roadhouse, 21st July 2002)
"Melding Radiohead with RATM by way of some pixies-style yowling, Kinesis' intensely melodic punk-pop rout is the musical equivalent of a Francis Bacon portrait: erratic, intriguing and strangely beautiful. They're already potentially more important than any other novice band in this country." - NME, live review (KINESIS, London Highbury Garage, 19th April 2002)
"You know how Black Flag played punk rock which sounded like it could level skyscrapers with its sheer seething malevolence? That's the point where Kinesis await starter's orders, raring to streak off deeper into the pit." - Kerrang!, live review (London Water Rats, 12th February 2002)